“Rep. Mell is doing extremely well,” said Dr. Nora Jaskowiak, Mell’s surgeon and an associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago Medicine. “She’s out of the woods. She is expected to do very well.”

Mell’s late mother’s history with breast cancer played a role in the lawmaker’s decision to take the aggressive step when she did. During the surgery, she had both of her breasts removed and the first stage of a two-part reconstructive procedure, the medical center said. After that, for five years she will take tamoxifen, a drug that can block the effects of estrogen and prevent a recurrence of the cancer.

“After learning from my mother’s experience, speaking with other diagnosed women and consulting with my doctors, my wife, Christin, and I knew this was the right course of action for us,” Mell said in a news release.

Her mother, Margaret “Marge” Mell, was first diagnosed at age 43. She had a second primary cancer in the other breast 12 years later, according to the center. Before her December 2006 death at age 62, Margaret Mell struggled with a degenerative brain disease with no cure that is known as progressive supranuclear palsy.

Rep. Mell was diagnosed with breast cancer in June with what was considered a small, early stage cancer and then went to the University of Chicago hospital in July for a second opinion, according to officials. Mell’s surgeon said no lymph nodes were affected and the tissue surrounding the tumor was cancer-free, which makes Mell’s prognosis very good, according to the release. The reconstructive surgery also has gone smoothly, said Dr. David Song, professor and section chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery, the release said.